2 groups seek housing grants

HUD to publish guidelines for fund requests.

HUD to publish guidelines for fund requests.

June 09, 2006|JEFF PARROTT Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Nearly a year after announcing plans to build an intergenerational apartment complex at the former Oliver School site, organizers remain hopeful. That, despite another group's interest in the site. In June 2005, two groups, Grandparents as Parents Limited and the United Religious Community's Homelessness Task Force, said they planned to seek federal money to build 20 to 24 apartment units on three acres at the southeast corner of Kemble and Indiana avenues. The groups have since expanded their vision to at least 32 units. Smaller grants, both public and private, would be sought to also build a family activity center, where children could receive tutoring and respite care, which provides child care while guardians take a break. The Legacy Act of 2003 for the first time earmarked U.S. Housing and Urban Development funding to build housing for older adults who are raising children other than their own. Last fall Congress appropriated $4 million for the initiative in the 2006 budget. Possibly as early as this summer, HUD plans to publish guidelines for groups interested in receiving grants through the program. The local groups will use that information to write their grant request. They expect to request $2.5 to $2.7 million, said Tom Broden, chair of the URC's homelessness task force. "The Legacy Act option does appear to be realistic this year, that there's going to be an invitation from HUD for proposals," Broden said. "We'll submit a proposal and either we'll be told 'yes' or 'no' on funding this year. I see that as a very high probability." But that might be a little too optimistic, said Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, a Washington-based advocacy group for intergenerational families. Because the program is brand-new, it might take HUD a bit longer to develop the guidelines for applicants, meaning grant money would not be awarded until 2007, she said. Her nonprofit organization knows of up to 25 communities around the country talking about building housing projects. But South Bend's group is more organized and further along than many, Butts said. "There's a lot of competition," Broden said. "It's a bit of a long shot, but we think it's worth it." A growing need Broden, whose task force spearheaded creation of the city's Center for the Homeless, said he was encouraged by a recent front-page story about the growing need for such housing in the New York Times. "The recognition is beginning that this is a need," he said. "The housing industry is beginning to recognize that intergenerational housing is the fastest growing form of living unit ..." Asked what progress his group had made on the project over the past year, Broden said it started out exploring the use of HUD Section 202 money, which also finances construction costs for senior citizen housing projects. But organizers dropped that idea because Section 202's requirement that units not exceed two bedrooms in size was too restrictive, he said. Five intergenerational housing complexes are already finished, in Buffalo, N.Y., the Bronx in New York City, Baton Rouge, La., Las Vegas and Connecticut, Butts said. Most of them used Section 202 money to fund two-bedroom units, and secured private grants and donations to build some larger apartments in the same complexes. New use for old building? The city has been trying to sell the site, listed for $38,000, since acquiring it from the South Bend Community School Corp. and demolishing it in July 2003. Mayor Stephen Luecke has written a letter of support for the project and the city has agreed to hold the site for the two groups until they learn whether HUD will finance the development, said Sharon Kendall, executive director of the city's department of economic and community development. Opal Bufford, GAP founder, has said too many grandparents are raising their grandchildren or other relatives on poverty-level incomes. More than 2,200 grandparents in St. Joseph County, and nearly 1,200 in South Bend, were raising their grandchildren as of 2000, according to Census 2000 data. Another proposal for Oliver Heroes Camp, a faith-based ministry that mentors inner-city youths through basketball, also recently has approached the city about buying the site. But Kendall said the city will hold the land for GAP and the URC task force until the groups learn about the HUD funding because they had already submitted a formal proposal when Hero's Camp came forward. Residents of the surrounding Rum Village neighborhood have given the intergenerational housing project idea mixed views. Some have voiced support, while others would like to instead see commercial development because the area has lost so much retail over the years.